3.6.11

I've been keeping this blog up for more of a personal blog and hopefully, when I can get around to photographing my son, I will put more pictures up of little T. He's getting so big these days and I really can not believe that he will be 18 months old at the end of the month. Crazy!

Today marks the end of the first week of swimming lessons for Tyler. So far he's not taking to it as well as I'd thought (or hoped) he would. I think he's sticking to his dad's motto of "work smarter, not harder" because he really will not do anything but hold his breath underwater. Kicking to get to the surface? What's that?? Who needs to kick when I can use my little baby belly to float to the top. LOL! It's pretty funny at times. We're hoping that the kicking will start up today since it will be the first day that Andy and I are supposed to be getting in the pool with him.

I was hoping to be able to grab a few pictures of this adventure, but after checking out the underwater camera housing options I changed my mind. Those things are not cheap! Maybe I'll breakdown and buy some kind of underwater point and shoot.

5.5.11

Hi Everyone! Oh my gosh it's been so long since I've written a blog post (how sad is that?). I officially have a new blog now http://www.christiemeresseblog.com/, I will still be posting here though and using this as more of a personal blog (more pictures of Tyler...Yay!).

This week's Fearless Friday post is about "Food". I didn't really know where to go with this post or how to approach it since it really is such a broad topic. For those of you who don't know, I have been on the Weight Watchers points plus program for about 5 months now. I haven't lost as many pounds as I was hoping to, but I also haven't been really strick with my plan for the past month. So far I've lost 18lbs, which is still really really huge for me!! I have about 10lbs to go before I hit my goal weight so I have a lot more work to do.

In light of my weightloss goals, my post about food today will be on one of the recipes from the Body-for-Life cookbook that we make at the house and really enjoy:

24.4.11

I hope you are having an amazing Easter today! My little T decided that he wanted to tie-dye his white polo shirt instead of put the color on the Easter eggs this morning. Oh well, my life with a one-year old.

If you've been to my website in the past day you will notice that it is in the process of changing from the old site to the new site. We've had a few hiccups with this process and right now the site is completely down. Don't worry, though, we should be up and running at the beginning of the week (crossing my fingers that it will be up early tomorrow). My email is also down, so if you need to contact me via email, please send your request either through my Facebook page or to my personal email christie.meresse@gmail.com.

1.4.11

It's so hard to hear someone tell you that you can't do something. That you're just not what they are looking for or that you still have a long way to go before you're ready. This unfortunately has been happening to me a lot lately. This week it was my turn to choose our Fearless Friday post so I decided that this week we should talk about "perspective".

Although lately I have been turned away from some things that I was really hoping were going to pan out, I have decided that I will not let this deter me. My perspective on life and on my career will continue to be positive. I will not let others define how I choose to live my life.

15.3.11

Each year I try to find a couple of charities in which to make a donation. This year I have decided that at least one donation will be made to the Police Unity Tour. Several of our local Tallahassee Police Officers attend this event each year to ride for officers fallen in the line of duty. In order to help raise money for this event, I will be donating 100% of the sitting fee for each session booked. The session fee for these sessions will be $50. This is an amazing deal and all of the money collected will benefit the Police Unity Tour. Sessions will be approximately 30 minutes long and will take place on Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 and Sunday, April 10th, 2011. To book your session please email me at christie@christiemeresse.com

11.3.11

One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is getting to hear how two people met. It always amazes me how people start down one path in life and then that journey leads them to an ending that they never expected. This week’s Fearless Friday post is about “Journey” (p.s. there is a giveaway at the bottom so make sure you read all the way down!)

I'd like to share with you the "journey" of Andy Meresse and Christie Schindler:

After high school, I began working a minimum wage job at a large retail store. I had NO knowledge of plants or anything else that I was supposed to be educating people about, but hey it was a job, right? After a couple of months working in the garden department I was asked to interview for a position in loss prevention. I thought the job sounded interesting so I applied for and got the position. Little did I know that having that job would completely change the path my life would follow.

After only a year of studying Psychology at the University of West Florida, I decided to transfer to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida to work on my Bachelor’s degree in Criminology. I kept my loss prevention job with the retail store and transferred to the Tallahassee location. Later that year, I was promoted and began working as a loss prevention specialist, apprehending shoplifters and investigating theft and fraud trends. Yes, me! My job was to walk around the store in “regular” clothes and investigate theft trends, assist with internal theft cases, put up in-store cameras, conduct surveillance, and apprehend shoplifters.

Enter Andy Meresse…

I saw Andy quite often while working in retail. He was the one who would remove the shoplifters from my office, handcuffs and all. We always had a very professional working relationship. I always thought, and hoped, that he would ask me out one day but as the years went on he never did. After I graduated college I was promoted to manage a loss prevention department with the same retail store in Orlando, Florida. It was over a year before I saw Andy again. A mutual friend (whom neither of us knew was a mutual friend) happened to interview for a position at my old job. After asking Andy what he thought about the job, Andy realized that she knew who I was. A couple of phone calls later and Andy was headed to Orlando for our first real date. And, as they say, the rest is history…

I think the best thing about our story is that Andy proposed in the exact same place where we first met: in front of the registers in the same retail store, both of us in “uniform”, with a ton of unsuspecting shoppers looking on.

Four years later we have this little munchin...

I would LOVE to hear how you met your other half! Leave a comment below and I will draw one couple for a $50 gift card. Winner will be announced on Friday, March 18th, 2011.

Also, don't forget to check out the rest of the Fearless Friday blogs...first up on your list is my really good friend Ashley Daniell Photography

1.3.11

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that it is already March 1st! I apologize for not being the best blogger these days, but I promise I will be back soon. I have been working on a new blog along with a new site and I hope to have everything ready to roll out soon. In the meantime, here is a picture of my two beautiful nieces and their half-sister.

25.2.11

In an email from a friend today was a note that said "Bad decisions make good stories". I'm not sure about you, but I probably have many good stories to tell. This week in particular has been a tough week of dealing with some realities in my life. Trying to find the right image for this post really took a lot of time and effort. This week, the Fearless Friday girls are taking on the word AMAZING.

I think I've shared this image before, but I found it this week while rifiling through some family pictures. I love this image. I love the complexity of the canyon in the background against the serene environment of the golf course. I love how the sun peaks between the trees and over the Perrine Bridge. This image reminds me to always find the time to look around and take in all of the amazing gifts God has created for us.

My life may not be perfect. I may not get to do all of the things I want to do. I can, however, work hard everyday toward the things that are important to me. And even if I don't accomplish everything, I know that I will have done my best and in doing that, my life will still be AMAZING!

Don't forget to head on over to my friend Angie's blog to check out her post this week!!

10.2.11

Welcome to the first edition of Fearless Friday!! In December of this past year I attended the Making Thing Happen intensive in Watercolor, FL and met some AMAZING women who I am so glad to call my friends. Every other week, eight of us will be doing a post on our site all revolving around the same theme. In honor of the upcoming holiday, this week we will each be tackling our definition of LOVE.

I have so many things to be thankful for in my life, and love is a word that is used a lot in our house. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful son (yes, boys can be beautiful), a photography job that I truly love, a wonderful (and really big) family, and amazing friends.

One of the things I love most right now is seeing things from my little T's point of view. Every day he is growing and learning new things and it amazes me. He amazes me. For my post this week I thought I would tell you all of the things that Tyler loves.

LOVE from a 1yr old's point of view...

"I love to put stuff in the trash can and the toilet"...no seriously, he thinks its the funniest thing ever.

"I love to pull all of my clothes out of my dresser drawers"

"I love to hang out with my dad and watch a movie right before bed" - he's done this since he was a little baby and still does it everynight before going to sleep.

"I love my Maggie" - especially when he can pull her tail and feed her food from the high chair.

"I love being chased by my mom and dad"

"I love food" - this kid is a bottomless pit. There is nothing he won't eat.

"I love to stand in front of the washer and watch it spin"

"I love to climb on the couch, on the coffee table and into the bathtub"

"I LOVE bathtime"

"I love to close the door on people, even though I cry when I realize I lock myself in"

"I love to hang out with my cousins" - although you won't know it from their faces LOL

"I love to play in my crib"

Now you can head on over to my friend Angie's blog to see how she feels about "LOVE"

28.1.11

Oh my gosh, I seriously cannot believe that I have been so bad about posting on my blog lately. I am working on a few changes to my business for 2011, including a new blog site. I'm also currently trying to get in to the Master of Fine Arts program at Florida State. Think positive thoughts about my chances of getting in!! My application, which I have been working on for about five weeks now, is almost done and ready to be sent.

I promise I will be back shortly and will hopefully have a lot of new things for you all to enjoy!

Here is an image from Tony and Allison's engagement session in Crestview, Florida. I can't wait until their April wedding!

10.1.11

I hope you all enjoyed the holiday's these past couple of months. It has been so crazy around here for me between sessions, Christmas, and planning Tyler's birthday party. I wanted to go back and create a full blog post for Evan and Renee's Thanksgiving wedding. I absolutely LOVED this wedding! Renee did an amazing job planning and everything looked so beautiful. The ceremony and reception was held at Maclay Gardens for their close family and friends.

Evan and Renee, I hope are two are enjoying married life!! I wish you all the best!!